BUTCHER John Allison is celebrating after reaching the final of a national sausage competition.

Mr Allison, from Ferryhill, County Durham, entered the pork, lamb and beef sections of the 2001 UK National Sausage Competition.

There were more than 200 entrants from around the country, so competition at the G-Mex Centre, in Manchester, was fierce.

A member of the federation of Meat and Food Traders, Mr Allison made it into the final 12 with both his beef and lamb and mint sausages.

Although he did not win either section, Mr Allison was delighted that his bangers made such an impression.

He said: "These sausages were from our own recipe that we make up ourselves with fresh British meat.

"So I was over the moon when I found out we were in the top 12 in the country.

"I've won the Northern competition in the past and I've reached the national finals before, so I'm going to keep having a go at winning the big one."